On April 24, residents of the Gangnam-gap district staged a protest in front of the People Power Party's Seoul chapter (at the Yeouido headquarters), demanding the cancellation of city council nominations. [Photo = Reader Submission]

The People Power Party's Supreme Council's decision on April 20 to put 18 out of 182 local election nomination proposals from the Seoul chapter, led by Representative Bae Hyun-jin, on hold has once again brought the controversies surrounding the nominations of Seoul city and district councilors to the forefront.

The party leadership explained that additional review at the central party level was necessary due to numerous appeals, and Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk publicly acknowledged "various controversies and noises" surrounding the Seoul chapter's nominations.

The reason this conflict is being viewed as more than just an internal party squabble is that local council nominations are inherently sensitive positions where the actual distribution of regional political power takes place.

While local council nominations are legally a party nomination process, it has long been pointed out that in practical politics, the influence of city/provincial chapters, district National Assembly members, and party chapter chairpersons plays a significant role.

The National Assembly Research Service, in a report on the problems of party nominations in local elections, officially highlighted the limitations of the party nomination system for local elections and the need for improvement. Recently, "minimizing the intervention of local National Assembly members and party chapter chairpersons" has been proposed as a key task for nomination reform.

Ultimately, city council nominations are both a process of selecting resident representatives and a point where the control of regional political organizations is most clearly revealed.

Another reason this structure is particularly noteworthy is that the nomination process has often been linked to allegations of illegal monetary transactions.

Article 47-2, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act prohibits the provision or receipt of money or property benefits related to a political party nominating a specific individual as a candidate. The Constitutional Court has also ruled that this provision does not violate the constitution. This indicates that the risk of monetary transactions during the nomination process has been a genuine institutional problem, leading to the establishment of a separate prohibition.

Actual cases have followed. In March, prosecutors arrested and indicted Representative Kang Seon-woo and former Seoul City Councilor Kim Kyung on charges of exchanging 100 million won in nomination funds before the 2022 local elections.

Furthermore, court rulings publicly available on the National Law Information Center contain numerous cases involving allegations of receiving or giving money related to the nomination of local council candidates.

While the verdict of guilt or innocence may vary for each individual case, it is clear that allegations of monetary transactions surrounding local council nominations have not remained mere rumors but have been the subject of actual investigations and trials.

Even if direct charges of money changing hands are not confirmed, the practice of city councilors in the same constituency concentrating large donations to National Assembly members who hold nomination rights and budgetary influence creates structural suspicion.

According to an analysis reported by the Dong-A Ilbo in January of this year, seven Seoul city councilors elected since 2018 have made large donations exceeding 3 million won annually to five National Assembly members of the same party and constituency.

While the individuals involved denied any illegality or quid pro quo, political circles and civic groups criticized the practice as inappropriate given the entanglement of interests with nomination rights.

This is ultimately why the current controversy surrounding Bae Hyun-jin's Seoul chapter nomination proposals is drawing attention.

City council nominations are not simply a matter of allocating one or two positions; they are directly linked to who will control the regional political order and the future power landscape.

Therefore, controversies over the influence of city chapters and district National Assembly members have always accompanied these processes, and issues of fairness and allegations of monetary transactions have repeatedly been raised.

The current Seoul nomination conflict should therefore be viewed not as an isolated clash over specific individuals, but rather as a manifestation of long-standing distrust in the nomination structure for local councilors, re-emerging into the spotlight.

Hanmi Ilbo investigated "Gangnam-gap," the most symbolic of the regions experiencing nomination controversies.

On April 8, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Su-jin (fourth from left) and People Power Party lawmaker Seo Myung-ok (center) held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Center on April 9, demanding the securing of 30% nominations for women.

[Case Study] Controversy Surrounds Gangnam-gap City Council Nominations Too... "Two Confirmed Without Primary, What Was Verified?"

Announcement of Min Kyung-hee and Kang Shin-wook as Nominees Despite Numerous Preliminary Candidates

Questions Raised About Sufficient Verification of Regional Base, Tax Arrears, and Political Independence

The controversies surrounding the People Power Party's Seoul chapter nominations have extended to the nomination of city council candidates for Gangnam-gap. Gangnam-gap is traditionally considered a strongholds for the People Power Party, making nominations highly significant in local elections.

In such a district, the announcement of two nominees without a primary, despite numerous preliminary candidates applying, has led to questions in the region regarding the transparency of the process and the rigor of candidate verification.

With Representative Bae Hyun-jin serving as the Seoul chapter chairperson and Representative Seo Myung-ok as the National Assembly member for Gangnam-gap, the Seoul chapter's Nomination Management Committee announced on March 10 that Min Kyung-hee and Kang Shin-wook had been confirmed as the city council candidates for Gangnam-gap.

However, after the nomination results became known, there has been backlash in the region questioning whether the candidates' backgrounds, nomination rationale, and the actual nomination decision-making process were sufficiently verified.

Resident A from the area told Hanmi Ilbo, "Kang Shin-wook is known to have served as Representative Seo Myung-ok's aide, and while Min Kyung-hee holds the title of Vice Chairperson of the Central Party's Women's Committee, she is relatively unknown in regional politics." "Representative Seo's camp is claiming that Representative Bae Hyun-jin handled the nomination entirely on her own," the resident claimed, raising questions about the fairness of the nomination process.

Another resident, B, raised concerns about candidate suitability. B stated, "The position of Vice Chairperson of the Central Party's Women's Committee has over 40 members, and her history of regional political participation is virtually non-existent." "She is a former executive director of a pharmaceutical company, which is a family business, and there is an ongoing administrative lawsuit between the company and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Many in the region have doubts about her suitability," B said.

According to the investigation, Min Kyung-hee reportedly paid off approximately 100 million won in overdue national taxes around the time her nomination was confirmed. Hanmi Ilbo confirmed this through related registration documents.

In response to this, Min stated via email that "the claim of national tax arrears is a clear fabrication." When asked for clarification on "why the Gangnam Tax Office registered a mortgage (174 million won) on the registration documents," our publication received a response stating that she had filed a complaint with the Media Arbitration Commission.

Kang Shin-wook is a former special appointment level 7 civil servant in Gangnam District. After the last presidential election, he served as Representative Seo Myung-ok's aide and was subsequently nominated as a city council candidate for this local election. An insider familiar with the situation stated, "He was originally recommended for a district council position but was changed to a city council candidate."

The core issue is not a simple matter of preference but a procedural one. According to local sources, despite numerous preliminary candidates applying for Gangnam-gap city council seats, Min Kyung-hee and Kang Shin-wook were ultimately confirmed without any primary election.

This has led to questions in the region about the criteria used to narrow down candidates and how thoroughly the nomination review process examined competitiveness, regional base, public activities, financial soundness, potential conflicts of interest, and political independence.

In particular, for Min Kyung-hee, while her resume lists her as Vice Chairperson of the Central Party's Women's Committee, it is argued that this title alone does not sufficiently explain her regional base or political participation experience.

For Kang Shin-wook, questions are also being raised in the region about whether his political independence has been adequately verified due to his close association with Representative Seo Myung-ok.

Ultimately, this nomination controversy has moved beyond a simple preference for or against specific candidates to become a question of "how acceptable the nomination review process was from the perspective of the regional voters."

So, "What Did the Seoul Chapter Verify?"

Hanmi Ilbo inquired with Representative Bae Hyun-jin, who is responsible for the nomination review, whether she directly intervened in the decision of Min Kyung-hee and Kang Shin-wook for the Gangnam-gap city council nominations and whether she exerted undue influence on the Seoul Chapter Nomination Management Committee in her capacity as chapter chairperson. However, no response was received.

We also asked Representative Seo Myung-ok for his position, having received reports that the nomination of the two candidates was based on the wishes of Seoul Chapter Chairperson Bae Hyun-jin, but again, no response was received.

The Gangnam-gap case illustrates that the essence of the current Seoul nomination conflict is not simply about "who received the nomination."

When two candidates were confirmed without a primary election despite multiple preliminary candidates applying, the region ultimately wants to know one thing:

"By what criteria were the candidates filtered, what was verified, and whose judgment was it?"